Honored as an Eagle in:

Eagle Biography

William G. Hudson

Pilot William A. "Skeeter" Hudson and radar operator Carl S. Fraser scored the first air victory in the Korean War. They were initially crewed together in 1948 while flying the P-61B Black Widow with the 68th Fighter All-Weather Squadron (FAWS), but soon transitioned to the North American F-82G Twin Mustang. On 26 June 1950, one day after North Korean forces burst across the 38th Parallel and threatened the South Korean capitol of Seoul, the 68 FAWS was ordered into action from its home station at Itazuki Air Base, Japan.

As members of the first American flight to reach Korea, Lieutenants Hudson and Fraser were involved in the opening of the air war when a pair of Russian built fighters made an unsuccessful firing pass on their patrol formation. On the morning of 27 June, North Korean fighters again engaged the F-82s, and Hudson and Fraser quickly downed one of the attacking aircraft. During the next few months, they flew 53 more combat missions, including day and night bombing, strafing, bomber escort, and armed reconnaissance sorties.

Their targets proved as varied as their missions; for example, their confirmed "kills" included five camels used by the North Koreans to move supplies. In 1951, they were assigned as a crew to a test squadron in the United States. With this unit, they not only flew such American interceptors as the F-94 Starfire , but also traveled to Europe to test Allied aircraft. After flying with Fraser for 8 years, Hudson went on to complete a career in the Air Force and retired in 1964 as a lieutenant colonel.

Fraser, medically retired from the Air Force in 1961, has remained active in aviation by working for Hughes Aircraft on such fighter interceptor projects as the F-14 Tomcat.

See the Lithograph

1983

Lithograph Setting

During the first day and a half of the Korean War, three squadrons of long-range, prop-driven F-82Gs from Japan provided the only air cover for evacuating noncombatants. On the morning of 27 June 1950, two YAK-9 fighters attacked a flight of Twin Mustangs over Kimpo Airport at Seoul. In the short battle that followed, Lieutenants "Skeeter" Hudson and Carl Fraser, flying aircraft number FQ-383 shown in the painting, shot down the flight leader of the attacking formation. This was the first of approximately 900 Allied victories in a seesaw battle for control of the Korean peninsula.

About GoE

Eagle Archive

Donate to GOE

Social Media

The Air Command and Staff College Gathering of Eagles Foundation is not professionally or commercially associated with the International Association of Eagles (IAE) or the Gathering of Eagles organization in Washington D.C.